Scientists Prove Humanity Is Getting Dumber by the Year (2 photos)
Norwegian researchers conducted a massive study analyzing IQ tests from 730,000 military conscripts born between 1962 and 1991. The findings offer little comfort to younger generations—as it turns out, they are scoring lower. 
Researchers from the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research showed that human intelligence is declining with each passing year. The sample included conscripts from various birth cohorts, all of whom were 18 to 19 years old at the time of testing.
The data revealed that men born in 1969 scored 3 points higher than those born in 1962 (an average IQ of 102.3 versus 99.5), but a downward trend followed. For those born in 1989, the average IQ dropped to 99.4—even lower than the 1962 baseline.
Back in 1984, American psychologist James Flynn established that during the first half of the 20th century, IQ scores among U.S. residents increased by 15 points. However, the trend reversed in the second half of the century, leading experts to dub this gradual decline the "Reverse Flynn Effect." 
Scientists remain baffled: there are no environmental or genetic explanations for this slow but steady decline in IQ. Remarkably, the Reverse Flynn Effect is observed even within the same family.
Prominent minds—including psychologist Andrey Konstantinov and cognitive scientist Maria Falikman—weighed in on the issue. They concluded that the "yardstick" used to measure IQ is likely outdated. The modern world requires a different kind of intelligence because the challenges we face have changed. On top of that, younger generations have access to the internet and digital tools. Simply put, human intelligence is evolving, yet we are still trying to measure it with old methods.
